84
Takes the old-school RTS formula and enriches it in countless cool ways, using the lessons of the past decade to create a single-player campaign that's as valid and exciting as anything else in the genre. [PC Zone]
80
While Act of War doesn't transcend its genre, in terms of doing the pure "Red Alert" thing, there hasn't been anything as competent and thrilling in ages.
85
Units seem to be well balanced, combat is fun and made pretty interesting by dense city sections, and the visuals should keep anybody more than satisfied.
9
This is the best CnC: Generals "clone". The 3 factions are balanced, the graphics are lovely, gameplay is perfect, wha else do you need I go a bit further: this game is slightly better than CnC Generals!
10
This game is awesome. It is one of my favourite games of all time up there with homeworld 2. Both of these games are so great i find it hard to decide which is the ultimate. These guys really stepped in and picked up where westwood dropped the ball, dropped the live action cutscenes and went "in game 3d"
10
I played this RTS religiously for about a year before I moved on and found out about Dawn of War. Anybody who likes RTSs at all should try this little-known gem from Atari. To put it simply, Act of War is in my opinion the perfect Command and Conquer game. It takes everything that made Command and Conquer great and dials it up to 11. This is strange because Act of War isn't actually an official Command and Conquer game. IMO, Act of War got exactly the right scale of combat. With DoW 2, you have small intimate squad battles. With Supreme Commander, you've got a ginormous scale with epic battles across entire peninsulas. Act of War had the perfect average of scale with good infantry action (even inside buildings!), while also allowing for devastating nuclear strikes and massed tank rushes. They even managed to pull off air combat in an innovative realistic fashion, which Relic later mimicked in CoH. Even Command and Conquer 3 came out later and tried to follow the magic and execution of Act of War, but I think they fell short. About the *only* complaint I can ever make about Act of War is that the infantry are individual units rather then squads, but I played it before DoW so that didn't bother me at the time.
Act of War: Direct Action
Released On:
Mar 15, 2005
Metascore
Generally Favorable
82
User score
Generally Favorable
8.4
My Score
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All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
88% Positive
38 Reviews
38 Reviews
12% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
95
Act of War beautfiully bridges the gap between action and strategy and provides an all out assault of the senses thanks to the incredble level of visual detail, intuitive control and an aural symphony comprised of the sounds of destruction.
88
A stunningly beautiful real-time strategy with a powerful campaign and lots of fabulous action, although the AI is a bit on the silly side. Still, heartily recommended. [Apr. 05]
User score
Generally Favorable
77% Positive
30 Ratings
30 Ratings
18% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
5% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Mar 31, 2012
10
This game is awesome. It is one of my favourite games of all time up there with homeworld 2. Both of these games are so great i find it hard to decide which is the ultimate. These guys really stepped in and picked up where westwood dropped the ball, dropped the live action cutscenes and went "in game 3d"
Sep 22, 2011
10
I played this RTS religiously for about a year before I moved on and found out about Dawn of War. Anybody who likes RTSs at all should try this little-known gem from Atari. To put it simply, Act of War is in my opinion the perfect Command and Conquer game. It takes everything that made Command and Conquer great and dials it up to 11. This is strange because Act of War isn't actually an official Command and Conquer game. IMO, Act of War got exactly the right scale of combat. With DoW 2, you have small intimate squad battles. With Supreme Commander, you've got a ginormous scale with epic battles across entire peninsulas. Act of War had the perfect average of scale with good infantry action (even inside buildings!), while also allowing for devastating nuclear strikes and massed tank rushes. They even managed to pull off air combat in an innovative realistic fashion, which Relic later mimicked in CoH. Even Command and Conquer 3 came out later and tried to follow the magic and execution of Act of War, but I think they fell short. About the *only* complaint I can ever make about Act of War is that the infantry are individual units rather then squads, but I played it before DoW so that didn't bother me at the time.
85
Here's a real-time strategy game with the soul of a sleek techno-thriller, stitched together with live action footage that, despite the acting and budgetary limitations, will remind you of the riveting television drama 24 at times.
82
It looks stunning, isn’t shy with its explosions and pyrotechnics, and keeps things moving at a cracking pace.
80
As a whole, Act of War doesn’t deviate from the tried and true gameplay mechanics of it’s genre, but it manages to deliver a solid, modern day warfare RTS-experience with nice visuals. [May 2005, p.86]
78
Act of War is polished, but it's not polished enough to hide the bad acting, disjointed and unrealistic storytelling, and most of all, the complete lack of inspiration or innovation.
68
Quite brutally it’s old school that just doesn’t meet the modern grade.
Feb 18, 2013
9
This is the best CnC: Generals "clone". The 3 factions are balanced, the graphics are lovely, gameplay is perfect, wha else do you need I go a bit further: this game is slightly better than CnC Generals!
SummaryAct of War: Direct Action tells a highly realistic, near-future story of a US elite force fighting an international plot to overthrow the current world order. While offering a "First Look at Tomorrow's War", the game takes you through a frightening and believable reality filled with suspense, international intrigue and geopolitical milit... Read More
Rated Tfor Teen
